He chuckled softly, and she sucked in a breath to yell at him some more, but then he was kissing her, his tongue stroking her lips into opening for him, and then probing further until she could feel the hard points of his fangs pushing against her upper lip. His arm swept around her waist, tugging her against him, and Natalie rose onto her toes. She knew he was seducing her, knew she should resist. But she didn’t want to. She’d missed him, damn it. Ever since sunset, she’d been waiting for his call, wanting to hear his voice, to see him again. Hoping he felt the same way, that he wanted her again, too.
They kissed until they were both breathless, until their bodies were hot and aroused, his cock hard against her belly, her pussy trembling and wet. She stared up at him, her heart racing.
“I didn’t mean to worry you,” she whispered, brushing his hair off his forehead.
“I know,” he said, his fingers were tender against her cheek. “And I do trust you. You’re familiar with the estate, and smart enough to know how far to push it. But I still worry.”
She nodded. “And I was right about what to look for. It was worth it.”
His mouth tightened, and she knew he was on the verge of disagreeing, and starting the argument all over again. So she changed the subject. “What did you mean when you told Marc to talk to Alon? Talk to him about what?”
His scowl took on a different note. “Is there something between you and Alon?”
Natalie had to fight not to laugh. He was jealous. The idea made her happy, even if there was no cause for it. “I told you. Alon’s my best friend in Houston.”
“You two never dated?”
“Once, when we first met. But we didn’t click that way. So, what’s up?”
He eyed her thoughtfully, as if wondering how much to tell her. And Natalie stared right back at him, challenging him to tell the truth. He shrugged.
“Alon is curious,” he said. Which told her exactly nothing.
“Curious about what?”
Christian gave her a patient look, as if she was being dense. “About becoming a vampire,” he explained slowly. “He’s a strong man, and a natural warrior, at the height of his power.”
Natalie was stricken. “But wouldn’t he have to die first?”
He doubled down on the look that said she was being dense. “Am I dead, Natalie?” he asked, cupping her ass and grinding his still stiff cock against her.
She blinked in confusion, trying to think past the sexual hunger that always seemed to swamp her around him. “No, of course not,” she insisted. “But I always thought—”
“What? That we haunted hospitals and battlefields looking for potential vampires? Helpless victims to bring over to become our minions?”
Natalie opened her mouth to protest, but he continued.
“Actually, you wouldn’t be far wrong. Many of us were turned under exactly those conditions as recently as a hundred years ago. But not anymore. Not with vampires more out in the world than ever before. We have people coming to us now, asking to be turned.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “Some see our evolution as an opportunity, a chance to live forever. Always young, always strong. Of course, there are others who think it’s the work of the devil.” He smirked, his feelings on that subject obvious. “The truth is, however, that only a relative few of us are strong enough to bring someone over, and we tend to be selective in whom we choose. After all, immortality for them is immortality with them. And even then, not everyone survives the process. Nor can you choose what the transition will do to a particular individual. A corporate tyrant today could find himself the lowest vampire minion tomorrow, with no measurable power of his own. And then every vampire is beholden to his Sire, no matter who he was before, or how much money he has.”
“What about Alon?” she asked.
“No matter what vampiric powers he ends up with, he will always be a warrior, and an asset to his Sire. But it’s still not a decision to be made lightly.”
“Will you tell me what you decide?”
“No. That is for Alon to share.”
Natalie pursed her lips unhappily, but he only grinned and kissed away her unhappiness. “Come on, Marc wants a workout.”
NATALIE SAT ON the floor, legs crossed in front of her, her back against the wall. Christian and Marc had just emerged from the locker room in identical black gisGIs, with plain black rank belts. They crossed the room on bare feet and exchanged a few words with Alon, who made a sweeping motion with his hand, giving them the floor. There was only one class scheduled, an advanced judo class taught by Alon. But, like everyone else in the dojo, the five men and one woman saw what was happening, and faded back against the wall to the watch the show. It was rare that Alon surrendered the mats to anyone, so the class members knew something was up.
Alon himself came over and sat next to Natalie, close enough that his shoulder was touching hers, close enough that it drew Christian’s attention. He caught her gaze, his own shifting downward to the point where their shoulders met, and then back up again to meet her eyes, with one eyebrow raised in question. Natalie would have laughed, but there wasn’t any humor in Christian’s expression. They were barely a couple, and already he was going all super possessive on her. She’d heard that about vampires, especially the powerful ones. They were instinctively territorial, and that instinct didn’t end with control over real estate. It extended to everything and, especially, everyone in their lives.
She returned Christian’s stare, opening her eyes wide, and giving him a silent “What?”